Key insight, 2026FSP Funded Space Act Agreement path inactive Mar 26; Appendix B Directed Call 01 surface power posted Jul 16; LEIA Appendix A with ISRU oxygen closed Oct 15

NASA set its standalone fission reactor solicitation inactive in March 2026, and lunar power and ISRU competitions now run through NextSTEP-3 Appendices A and B instead.

Source: SAM.gov notices 80GRC025FSPS, 80MSFC26R0003, 80GRC026R0008

The year 2026

JanJan 13, 2026

DOE and NASA announced a signed memorandum of understanding to develop a lunar surface reactor by 2030.
DOE news release
MarMar 24, 2026

NASA unveiled Moon Base, paused Gateway in its current form, and named radioisotope heater units and RTGs as Phase One surface power.
NASA RELEASE26-025
MarMar 26, 2026

NASA Glenn set the Fission Surface Power draft Funded Space Act Agreement path inactive while it reassesses the development approach.
SAM.gov, 80GRC025FSPS
MayMay 4, 2026

Interlune won a $6.9M sole-source SBIR Phase III contract to build a payload that measures regolith gases and tests helium-3 extraction, ready for launch in 2028.
Interlune press release
JulJul 16, 2026

NASA posted NextSTEP-3 Appendix B Moon Base Demonstrations, opening Directed Call 01 Initial Surface Power with a white paper request.
NASA NextSTEP-3 Appendix B page
SepSep 8, 2026

NASA issued the final LEIA solicitation under NextSTEP-3 Appendix A, buying ISRU oxygen from regolith, Stirling radioisotope generators and vertical solar arrays, with proposals due October 15.
NASA news release; SAM.gov, 80GRC026R0008

Space Resources Tracker | ISRU, Mining & Energy Contracts

The Resources page tracks every active and pending solicitation for space resource utilization, from lunar ice extraction and regolith processing to asteroid mining ventures, propellant depot development, and fission power systems. Browse active resource solicitations, follow the water ice programs, or explore space energy generation. For the full ranked view across all destinations, visit the 2026 tracker. For real-time bid updates, watch the live ABOI feed.

Latest Analysis

EDITORIAL STEM

NASA / ICONopen

Project Olympus | Printing the Moon's Landing Pads

$57.2MActive development

ICON's $57.2M NASA award develops autonomous regolith 3D printing for landing pads, roads, and blast shields. The first construction-scale ISRU contract, and the clear leader in printing the Moon's first hard infrastructure.

EDITORIAL STEM

NASA KENNEDYclosed

MSolo | Sniffing the Moon for Water

Sources SoughtClosed Aug 2026

NASA Kennedy's MSolo mass spectrometer measures the gases coming off lunar operations, confirming where the ice actually is before anyone commits to mining it. The measurement layer beneath the headlines.

EDITORIAL STEM

INTERLUNE / DOEopen

The Helium-3 Order Book | Interlune and the DOE's Historic Buy

$6.9M SBIR IIIFirst gov buy

Interlune's NASA SBIR III funds helium-3 extraction, and the DOE made the first US government purchase of a lunar resource. At $2,000 to $17,000 a liter, the order book opens without waiting for fusion.

EDITORIAL STEM

NASA / DOEopen

Fission Surface Power | The Reactor Race for Base Camp

Reactor by 2030Draft path inactive Mar 2026

NASA and DOE agreed on January 13, 2026 to target a lunar surface reactor by 2030 under EO 14369. On March 26, 2026 NASA set its draft Fission Surface Power agreement path (80GRC025FSPS) inactive while it rethinks the approach, and lunar power competitions now run through NextSTEP-3. Solar alone cannot carry a polar base through the two-week lunar night.

EDITORIAL STEM

NASA / IMopen

PRIME-1 | The First Drill Into Lunar Ice

On IM-2Landed on its side Mar 2025

The first attempt to drill into subsurface lunar ice flew VIPER's TRIDENT drill and MSOLO on Intuitive Machines' IM-2, which launched February 26, 2025 and landed on its side near Mons Mouton on March 6, ending the mission early. Ground truth on workable ice is still owed.

EDITORIAL STEM

NASAopen

VIPER's Ghost | The Ice Rover NASA Cancelled

CancelledGap in data

NASA cancelled the VIPER ice rover after a $450M overrun, leaving the clearest planned ice-survey mission dead. The instruments live on smaller landers, but the rover-class map of the ice is gone.

EDITORIAL STEM

SPACEX / NASAopen

Starship Refueling | The 1,000-Ton Problem on Artemis's Critical Path

Critical pathTransfer demo

No crewed lunar landing happens without transferring over 1,000 tons of propellant in orbit, an operation a thousand times larger than anything attempted. The depot architecture Artemis quietly depends on.

EDITORIAL STEM

ORBIT FABopen

Orbit Fab | The Gas Station Standard for Orbit

$30K/portTanker on orbit

The Space Force-endorsed refueling interface standard already has a tanker on orbit. Two propellant economies are emerging, storable and cryogenic, and whoever sets the nozzle standard owns the gas station.

EDITORIAL STEM

CALTECH / ESAopen

Space Solar | Caltech Beamed Power From Orbit, Now What

Research phaseDemo done 2023

Caltech beamed power from orbit to Earth for the first time in 2023, and ESA's SOLARIS is advancing in parallel. The proof exists; the question is whether anyone funds the leap from watts to megawatts.

Active RFPs

No open resources solicitations in the latest SAM.gov snapshot (October 20, 2026). Lunar power and ISRU work currently runs through NASA's NextSTEP-3 calls tracked on the Moon page.

Water Ice

PROGRAM TRACKER

NASAcancelled

VIPER Lunar Ice Rover

$450M+ overrunCancelled Jul 2024

Cancellation left a critical gap in lunar ice ground-truth data. No rover-class ice survey on the near-term manifest. TRIDENT drill and MSOLO spectrometer carried forward on PRIME-1.

PROGRAM TRACKER

NASAFlown

PRIME-1 (IM-2 Mission)

Included in IM-2Landed Mar 6, 2025 (on its side)

First subsurface ice excavation attempt on the Moon, carrying VIPER's TRIDENT drill and the MSOLO spectrometer on Intuitive Machines' IM-2. The lander came to rest on its side near Mons Mouton and the mission ended early.

PROGRAM TRACKER

JAXA/ISROIn Development

LUPEX Lunar Polar Exploration

TBDLate 2020s

Joint JAXA-ISRO mission with 6-month rover and 1.5m drill. May become the most comprehensive polar ice survey if it launches as planned.

Metals & Regolith

PROGRAM TRACKER

NASAactive

Lunar ISRU Oxygen from Regolith

Multiple contractsPre-deployment development

Oxygen is 43% of regolith by mass and 70-85% of bipropellant mass, making it the highest-leverage ISRU product. Carbothermal reduction and molten electrolysis both produce metal byproducts.

PROGRAM TRACKER

REDWIREactive

Redwire Regolith Processing

TRL 3-5Ground demos active

Only company with an operating space manufacturing facility (ISS AMF). Building toward a commercial regolith processing service model.

Helium-3

COMMERCIAL

INTERLUNEContracted

Interlune Lunar He-3 Extraction

$6.9M SBIR IIINear-term markets: medical, quantum

Only commercial entity focused exclusively on lunar He-3. Business case stands on near-term markets (medical, quantum, security) without requiring fusion. He-3 prices of $2,000-$17,000/liter make small return quantities viable.

PROGRAM TRACKER

CNSAactive

China Chang'e He-3 Program

State fundedILRS integration

China has explicitly framed He-3 as a strategic energy security asset. Sample analysis ongoing; extraction planning integrated with ILRS lunar base program.

Asteroid Mining

COMMERCIAL

ASTROFORGEactive

AstroForge Asteroid Mining

$55M+ raisedTwo missions flown

Fastest asteroid mining company ever, with two missions in two years. Core extraction-and-return challenge remains undemonstrated. Learned from Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries failures.

COMMERCIAL

TRANSASTRAactive

TransAstra Optical Mining

NASA NIAC/SBIRTechnology development

Concentrated sunlight approach fundamentally different from mechanical extraction. Targets water and propellant rather than metals. NASA NIAC and SBIR funded.

Propellant Depots

PROGRAM TRACKER

SPACEXIn Development

Starship Orbital Refueling

Artemis critical pathShip-to-ship demo not yet flown

Artemis critical path. No crewed lunar landing without transferring ~1,000+ metric tons of propellant in orbit, an operation 1,000x larger than anything previously attempted.

PROGRAM TRACKER

ORBIT FABactive

Orbit Fab RAFTI & Fuel Depot

$30K/portTanker-001 on orbit

Leading refueling interface standard with Space Force endorsement. Tanker-001 already on orbit. RAFTI qualified. Two parallel propellant economies emerging: storable and cryogenic.

Energy Generation

PROGRAM TRACKER

NASARethinking

Fission Surface Power (40 kWe)

Reactor by 2030Draft path inactive Mar 26, 2026

PROGRAM TRACKER

DARPACancelled

DRACO Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

CancelledCancelled 2025

The DRACO nuclear thermal propulsion flight demonstration with Lockheed Martin and BWX Technologies was cancelled in 2025, and the FY2026 budget request confirmed it. It would have been the first US nuclear propulsion flight test since NERVA.

PROGRAM TRACKER

CALTECH/ESAactive

Space Solar Power (SSPP / SOLARIS)

Research phaseSSPD-1 demo completed 2023

Caltech achieved the first-ever wireless power transmission from orbit to Earth (SSPD-1, 2023). Foundational proof-of-concept for space-based solar power. ESA SOLARIS program advancing in parallel.